Mumbai: AirAsia, if allowed to start an airline in India along with the Tata Group and Arun Bhatia of Telestra, would pose serious competition to the incumbents, more specifically IndiGo and Jet Airways Group which, in turn, would benefit air passengers. Airfares are expected to remain low as witnessed in the past few years, except for last year.
“This announcement is on expected lines and not surprising. However, (I am) surprised with Tatas agreeing to be part of the joint venture without taking a lead role in the consortium. This will be an AirAsia-led consortium which might face regulatory challenges,” Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), told The Hindu.
“It is not clear if government will clear their licence as there is no clarity on the issue of new licenses. Overall, CAPA welcomes strong and well capitalized airlines as it will be positive for the overall sector,” Mr. Kaul added.
20/02/13 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu
